For all the bad raps that credit card get, I think it’s worth noting when they really provide extra benefits. I’ve had two such incidents within the past year.

First, I bought my wife a charm last year, using our American Express. While my wife was on a bus, the charm got caught on a hook and the charm was pulled off. She couldn’t find it. I called American Express, and their Purchase Protection coverage applied, since the loss was within 90 days of the purchase. I gave all the details over the phone, signed the paper that AmEx mailed to me, and within 2 weeks, I had a full reimbursement on the card for the purchase. No hassle.

Just last month, we had to have a service call on our refrigerator from Sears. We’ve had the the fridge about 16 months, and the Sears warranty is only good for a year. As it turns out, we had purchased the fridge using our Citi credit card, and their Extended Warranty coverage applied. I faxed in copies of our statement (from 16 months ago, good thing we keep copies) and a copy of the receipt (good thing we keep receipts), along with the Sears warranty statement and service receipt. Within 10 days, we received a check in the mail to cover the full amount of the service call. No hassle.

Thank you, American Express and Citi. I’ll never forget to check the extra benefits provided by the credit cards we use.